London-inspired buses for Halifax?

London’s ‘New Routemaster’ bus could hit the streets of Halifax by 2016.

First West Yorkshire has launched a consultation on its proposal for a ‘New Bus for West Yorkshire’.

The three-part proposal includes introducing a new bus based on the iconic London ‘New Routemaster’, introducing smart card ticketing similar to the Oyster card used in London and working with local partners to unblock hold-ups by tackling congestion hot spots, where changes to road layouts and traffic signals could reduce delays.

Paul Turner, First’s head of commercial, said: “It’s a bus for the future, to serve the public of the area.

“We want to test the reaction of people across West Yorkshire to the package of measures we are proposing which we believe could radically transform public transport in West Yorkshire.”

First say the inclusion of multi entry and exit points on the new buses, as well as touch card ticketing would increase accessibility and cut journey times by speeding up boarding and exiting.

The buses, which celebrate the best of British design, will also have hybrid, fuel-efficient engines which will reduce C02 emissions by nearly half in comparison to diesel buses.

Mr Turner added: “The other factors that will determine whether we go ahead with this significant invesment are the completion of a bus partnership with Metro and the new West Yorkshire Combined authority.

“Negotiations have been going on between all the bus operators and Metro for a couple of years now and we need the agreement to provide the stability necessary to make major investment decisions.

“In other areas, similar partnership agreements have led to significant fare reductions and increases in passenger numbers.”